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Longmont man suspected of making death threats against Front Range Community College staff

Michael Santarelli suspected of misdemeanor harassment

By Pierrette J. Shields

Times-Call staff writer

Posted:
03/17/2014 05:28:38 PM MDT

Updated:
03/17/2014 05:32:44 PM MDT

Santarelli

Longmont police arrested a former Front Range Community College student last week on suspicion of sending death threats to staff, prompting heightened security at Longmont and Westminster campuses, according to officials.

Michael Francis Santarelli, 35, was already in the Boulder County Jail on suspicion of violating a protection order last week when Longmont police arrested him on suspicion of misdemeanor harassment in the new case. Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said Longmont officers arrested him on two Adams County warrants for violating a protection order in a stalking case. He is being held on a $5,500 bond in the harassment case and with no bond on the outstanding warrants.

Satur said he followed up with the courts and learned that Santarelli has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. So far, he said, the threats don't legally amount to more than harassment.

"It really highlights the difficulties of these cases sometimes. They make these threats and there is a perception that there is strong mental illness involved," Satur said, noting that Santarelli could find his way out of jail soon enough. "People, like the school, need to be vigilant, they need to be aware. They have been notified of this person with photos."

He said he is hopeful that the mental health evaluation will help quell the issues.

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Longmont police were called to Front Range's Longmont campus on Thursday to discuss the apparent threats with a campus security guard, who reported that one of the emails "indicated that Michael was willing to kill the staff members."

Front Range Community College director of public relations John Feeley said Santarelli has not been enrolled at the school since 2011, but that campus officials and staff members named in the emails are working with police on the investigation.

"This former student is not welcome on any FRCC campus," Feeley said, adding that the campuses in Longmont and Westminster can expect a "heightened" police presence.

An investigation revealed that Santarelli sent an email to nine staff members on March 6 with the subject line "The bodies disappear in the night."

In the email, he accuses them of killing his cat and promises to avenge the death.

"To whom it may concern, as I spiral down into my rage, I would very much like to know why the bodies of all the animals disappeared in the night. Not just my lovely ikkle kitty Midnight, but all of them," he wrote. "What the f--- did you do to my cat?"

Ikkle is another way of saying little, and no context is provided for the accusation.

"I am feeling more than willing these days to track any of you down, waterboard any of you, and kill any of you for that information; beyond perfectly valid (and defensible) reasons I already have," police quote the e-mail as reading.

Police examined his public Facebook page and found other comments, but they did not name names. It notes he believes in vigilantism and "would rather kill without risk, and certainly don't owe you an explanation at this point. So I'll be slitting your throats from behind or the like," police quoted a March 3 post as reading.

The post notes that he would prefer to get an "assault rifle with a decent clip size, to account for my inadequacy."

Another March 3 post reads: "This is my own declaration of intent; first degree murder plans, for first degree plans."

In a March 12 post, police noted, that an update says he is "not actually homicidal, just at wit's end, really."

Police in January took a report about an email Santarelli sent expressing his feelings about the multimedia graphics design animation degree. He complained about one specific professor and accused the man of sexual harassment.

Longmont police also examined his blog and noted other comments about planning to kill, according to reports.

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